Hi readers!
Wow, what a whirlwind the past few days has been. Feline Business Brief travelled up to Birmingham to attend the 2025 Pet & Aquatics Trade Show (PATS, the UK’s biggest pet industry fair).
It was a blast. While dog-focused products made up at least 80% of displays, cats were represented with unmatched enthusiasm.
Walking the show floor, I spoke with all kinds of cat brands, from sustainable litter and high-end grooming to luxury furniture and nutritional supplements.
The key takeaway? Feline innovation is gaining momentum. During my many conversations, I could genuinely feel the enthusiasm of feline innovators, particularly the independent brands. There was a real feeling of “finally, cats are getting the attention they deserve.”
We’ll be bringing you tons of multimedia interviews in the next few days, including with The Nutriment Company, Moggie, OnlyCat, Inventor Smart Care and Karnlea!
And by multimedia, we mean our soon to be launched YouTube channel! Keep an eye on our Linkedin page and Instagram for more details.
P.S. Fantastic as it was to travel to PATS, it wouldn’t be a cat parent’s life without seeing this on the remote kitty camera at home:
Either Morag or Ethel’s “humpf” backside. She sat there for an hour to inflict maximum guilt for me being away.
Luckily, I’m now home and Ethel and Morag seem to have forgiven me.
In the news
Cats at PATS: What’s new this year?
Clockwise from top left: Interviewing JoJo Cheung of Pettellyava; Lara McCullough of Karnlea; Cecil; Ewa Zurkiewicz of Joy&Toy! and Victor Carpio of Inventor Smart Care; Pettellyava display.
Here are five standout trends indicating where the feline market is heading:
1. The feline-first category is gaining ground
By far, the most rewarding aspect of this year’s PATS was the presence of feline-first products. Several brands, both established and newer, were showing off products which had been designed from the start for cats (and only cats):
Design-led products: Hong Kong brand Pettellyava is setting a new benchmark with muted-colour cat furniture that balances feline enrichment with home aesthetics. They purposely avoided garish colours to better accommodate feline vision.
Grooming innovation: Bugalugs is developing a feline-only shampoo, reflecting a shift away from simply repurposed canine products.
Nutrition-first launches: Frozzys has debuted its first cat-only product, a yoghurt formulated specifically for felines. Karnlea is also expanding beyond dogs with its first feline supplements.
Food: Vital Pet Group showed off its new cat food line, Real Simplicity (launching early next year).
Reason to celebrate: These launches mark a maturation of the cat category. Brands are applying true design thinking and innovation, rather than treating cats as an afterthought.
2. An avalanche of cat litter
One thing which really struck me at PATS was the sheer amount of cat litter everywhere. Not just business-as-usual litter, but fancy litter.
Sustainable alt-materials are taking centre stage: Sustainability was a huge trend, with several brands offering tofu-based litter (Cococat Limited) and seaweed (Piddles), to more unusual ingredients like cassava.
Innovation meets consumer demand: Eco-conscious owners are actively seeking out products that align with their values, pushing companies to think beyond clay and silica.
The question: Good quality ‘regular’ cat litter is already somewhat pricey for the average consumer. And cat litter is not just a one-off purchase, but a regular necessity for life. How willing are regular cat parents to splurge on higher-priced novel cat litter? Will sustainability concerns outweigh budget limitations?
3. Cat supplements on the rise
Lara McCullough, founder of Karnlea
There was a clear move toward genuine feline-first products, designed to address cats’ unique dietary needs rather than treating them as an afterthought:
Karnlea has introduced toppers designed to boost everyday nutrition;
Zoomy is expanding with targeted joint supplements for cats;
Frozzys has launched its first feline-only product: cat yoghurt for gut health.
In short: emphasis is growing on supplements and functional foods as part of routine feline care.
Frozzys’ cat yoghurt.
4. Indie brands moving into the mainstream
Disclosure: I was gifted two free cans of Untamed cat food. Ethel will be happy.
Independents on the rise: Untamed (still independent), Blink! (started that way, now under Butcher’s Pet Care), and Purrform (acquired by The Nutriment Company in July 2025) show how fast-moving challenger brands are reshaping the market.
Not just niche anymore: Many brands are going from direct to consumer (DTC) to large retailers, like Untamed (now listed in Sainsbury’s and Tesco) and Scrumbles.
The takeaway: Indie cat brands are seen as purveyors of more caring, high-quality cat food, often created by founders who created their food to help a beloved cat. This resonates emotionally with other cat parents, who are happy to spend more (despite rising cost of living) to make sure their cats are healthy.
Now, the success of DTC-first players breaking into mass retail is redefining what “mainstream” cat care looks like. No more grabbing quick-fix low-protein brands off the shelf. Consumers want better quality.
5. Cat grooming goes high-end
Grooming has mostly been a dog-centric category. The emergence of cat-specific formulations marks a pivot:
Premium grooming is expanding: Barkin & Meowson is introducing products designed for both cats and dogs (dog and cat shampoos, pawdicure products, styling sprays), while Bugalugs is actively testing a cat-only shampoo.
Cat shampoo, anyone? In a business sense, high-end cat grooming is another opportunity for pet brands to create a premium segment. But for Feline Business Brief, the jury’s out on whether cats actually require regular shampooing. Some research indicates that, in most cases, regularly bathing your cats does not need to be A Thing. Others may disagree. What do you think?
In short: dogs still dominate, but cats are growing faster.
If one theme tied PATS together this year, it was the sense that cats are no longer “niche”. For brands and retailers, the opportunity is obvious: the cat market is ready for investment, innovation, and respect in its own right.
5 minutes with… The Nutriment Company
Speaking with Peter Roy, UK Managing Director of The Nutriment Company
We grabbed a quick interview with Peter Roy, UK Managing Director of The Nutriment Company. The company made its first feline acquisition in July: Purrform, a raw cat food brand.
On Purrform:
“We were really excited when we met the team. Purrform has always really led the way in cat nutrition and raw feeding. The cat market really appeals to us now. We see huge similarities in what dog was like in 2008–9 where there’s a lot of education required.”
On the changing cat consumer:
“Cat ownership levels are increasing here in the UK. People are really making a conscious decision about how to research the cat, what type of cat, and then you do that and also look at nutrition. Sometimes the information you find can be very revealing, quite disturbing for cat nutrition.”
On why a cat-only brand matters:
“I’ve got a dog and a cat, so I feel qualified to say this. They’re very different. The cat consumer needs to feel trusted and understood by cat brands rather than a dog brand that just does a little bit of cat.”
On challenges in the category:
“Nobody feeds their pets poor nutrition knowingly… there’s a challenge with cat, because when you’re going natural, it’s natural ingredients. There’s no sugar, no flavouring, no additives, no fillers. But actually feeding cat naturally can be more cost effective than some of the better-known brands in grocery.”
On raw safety and avian flu risks:
“The thing about raw feeding is that it is a natural product, so you need to have a very, very good quality supply chain, supply standards and full quality assurance throughout the entire production procedure. We conform to all of the UK standards, from testing raw materials coming through to testing finished products.”
On growth plans:
“We’re very clear that Purrform is our cat brand. We’ll be growing that product range… fresh products, freeze dried products, and just broadening the scope so that there’s something the consumer can always try. We’ll never stray into synthetic, artificial, high-temperature products and remain true to Purrform.”
On the trends to watch:
“Raw, but then I would say that! I think that [cat] education online, we'll see it. I think there's cat hydration that's very key as well. Huge growth in cats, huge growth in supplements.”
Insect-based cat food
Spotted at PATS: insect-based cat food.
While insect-based dog food has gained recognition, feline equivalents are more niche. At PATS:
Thanks for reading! Here's a friendly feline face just for you. 😺
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